West - The Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes of Southern Florida

Following two major 19th century wars of removal during which some 6,000 Florida Indians surrendered or were captured and shipped to the Oklahoma Territory, the 200 Seminole survivors reorganized and resumed their trading economy in furs, bird plumes, and alligator hides. Robert Osceola (Panther clan) and Doctor Tigers Boy (Wind clan) pay a visit to the Jupiter Lighthouse at Jupiter, Florida in 1879. This rare stereopticon card is of a photograph by Melville Spencer. (92.17.1.)

Tourism was made possible by the arrival of Henry Flaglers Florida East Coast Railroad in the latter 1890s. The Seminoles, as all of the Florida Indians were then called, emerged as a bonus. A postcard from the Detroit Publishing Co. shows an unidentified Seminole posing by a coconut tree. Across Lake Worth is Flaglers exclusive Royal Poinciana Hotel at Palm Beach. (1788.)

Tallahassee (Deer clan) poses with accessories once typical for elite Seminole men in a photograph c . 1900 by Frederick Andrew Metcalfe. The sashes are of two distinct types: one is embroidered beadwork on wool, while the other is heddle-loomed woolen yarn with large beads added during the weaving process. The latter technique was used for the garters, while the leggings exhibit beadwork embroidery on wool. (442.)

Moff-ci-huf-tie , Lucy Fewell (Mrs. Cufney Tiger) (Panther clan), poses near her mothers banana patch, c . 1905. Around her neck are strands of necklace beads topped with necklaces made of pierced coins. On the bodice-ruffle are four beaten silver bangles (three made from a silver dollar and one from a quarter); she also wears a gingham skirt with two ruffles. (109.)

These Bird clan women, heavily laden with beads, coin necklaces, and silver bangles, have been identified as Ben Wells mother and Suzie Tiger. They were Creek Seminoles who lived near Lake Okeechobee. The men are unidentified. (91.5P.18, William D. and Edith M. Boehmer Collection.)

On the Miami River, Little Charlie Jumper (Panther clan) and Billie Tommie Jumper (Bear clan) pose with their children in a cypress dugout canoe, laden with camp gear, c . 1904. (1020.)

The gregarious Creek Seminole, Captain Tom Tiger (Wildcat clan), lived with his two Mikasuki Snake clan wives near Lake Okeechobee. He met the first train to the area and later greeted President Coolidge. Tigers bones were later stolen by a speculator in 1907, nearly causing hostilities until they were returned. His photograph was made into postcards by several studios from Palatka to Miami. (1148.)

Mikasuki women Nittarkee , Otta hee (Panther clan), and Follee Tikee (Bird clan) pose in a Miami photographic studio, c . 1904. Charlie Tiger (Bird clan) and Charlie Billie (Wildcat clan) stand with trading post operator James Girtman. (782.)

An unidentified family poses in perhaps the same Miami studio, c . 1904. This photograph was made into a postcard by Julius Smith. (498.)

A stuffed alligator was a popular photographic studio prop that was associated with the Miami photographer Fred Hands studio. Seminole children were frequently referred to as papoose or pickaninny around 1900. (1125, postcard published by J.N. Chamberlain.)

A postcard, doubtless made from a photograph by Hand in Miami c . 1900, was of Old Charlie Osceola (Panther clan) who resided on New River in Ft. Lauderdale. Charlie remembered as a young boy seeing family members rounded up to be sent off to Indian Territory. (20.)

Billy Bowlegs III (Little Black Snake clan) was of no relation to the war leader. This Bowlegs was a grandchild of one of the last full-blood African slaves owned by a Seminole clan. His mother Nancy was half-Seminole, a slave retained by the Snake Clan. Since Seminole mothers give their clan to their children and Billys mother had no clan, he was given the designation of Little Black Snake clan by his Seminole relatives, c . 1911. (1322.)

Ruby Tiger Tail (Wind clan) grew up in one of the earliest families of Seminole entrepreneurs in trade and tourism. Ruby exhibits her own affluence with an abundance of beads and silver bangles. She holds her arm across her mid-drift in a characteristic pose affected by Seminole women of this era, before the ruffles on their bodice were modestly lengthened to form a cape, c . 1915. (316.)

Both the Snake Clan and the Bird Clan have narratives of young women escaping from the U.S. military en route to Indian Territory during the Seminole Wars. During the Third Seminole War (18551858), Ma-de-lo-yee , Polly Parker, (Little Bird clan), and others escaped when the steamship they were on stopped to take on wood in north Florida. Relocated with relatives, Polly Parkers saga made her a legend in her own time. (424, photograph by H.E. Hill)